3/22/09

Seems like everyone's going out of their way in showering the newly relevant government of Kashmir with oratory garlands. It is not as if the Indian government presented Kashmir with a piece of the moon. Even though the developments of recent days, in which the army implicated three soldiers in the murder of Javed and Amin of Bomai is a step in the right direction, and would not have happened had Omar Abdullah not held his ground, I feel it is too early to come to the conclusion that this indictment and implication by a mere inquiry will transform into the murderers being brought before the court of law.

But if we were to compare Omar to previous heads of the Kashmir government, then certainly there is a marked difference from the past. Of all the previous Kashmir governments, the distinction of being a hallmark of notoriety lies with the Jagmohan government. Therefore, if I were to gauge the brutality of any government, I would compare it to that era. Clearly, in comparison to Jagmohan, the present government comes off with flying colors. The main reason that underpins my assessment is the stand Omar took in response to the killings, and pursued justice. But is that enough. Coming off with flying colors in comparison with Jagmohan is not a compliment. It`s like comparing someone with the meanest, ugliest creature and exclaiming, "you are better than that." Kashmiris deserve better. If the only good thing we can say is that a government does not condone brutality, I dont think that is something to be proud of, because brutalities are still taking place - the only difference is that the present government is not condoning it.

The recent events in which the Indian government caved in and admitted that their soldiers murdered innocent Kashmiris only helped in bringing back the Kashmir government some relevance. What will turn things around is if the soldiers were infact brought before the courts and tried like any other criminals. As far as I know, the death penalty is still handed for murder, and these soldiers should not receive any special treatment.

39 comments:

Nothing to cheer about. Its like killing you and telling your dead body, "I am sorry. I killed you by mistake". Where is justice. They admitted to have committed the crime but where are the criminals. By now they should have been in the Central jail or sitting in the Tihar jail adjacent to Afzal Guru's cell. I think they have released the pressure of them with this twist. They are trying to kill two birds with one shot. Releasing public pressure and primarily playing a big election stunt. They want to show that they care about Kashmiris all but in vain. They have started their election campaign with this. I can compare Omar Abdullah with only Kadirov of Chechanya, Kadirov is President of Chechanya and is having stark resemblence with Om... Ar in terms of duplicity, crookry and brutality. If you want to know more about it, just Google Ramzan Kadirov, the President of Checheniya. You are going to shiver.Om...Ar is going to be worst than Jagmohan the Butcher. Allah will prevent him from unleashing his demon. Inshallah

Koshur I agree with to a great extent.Facts must be put as facts. JK Govt has done something which previous govt including his father have never done. I do not agree that the present govt wants to overtake Jagmohan as far as atrocitites are concerned. They may use police but they will not use army against common man. However, politics is a dirty game and the lust of power is very dangerous. They can do anything like bribing people to become informners, giving a free hand to police, increase corruption and deviate the people of kashmir from the main issue of self determination. In that respect I feel governors rule is better as the political leadership know how to reach to masses and create confusion. We have seen in the recent elections how on the basis of Rs 100 note, people were motivated in many places....I see a great danger ahead with this renewed pro Indian political activites on surge. This is the crucial time where we need a very strong pro freedom leadership to counter them. ajaztam@hotmail.com

@Kashmir center and AijazI couldnt agree more. Chechnya and Kashmir have many political similarities. Both Russia and India have massacred hundreds of thousands of innocent freedom seeking people to hold on to territory that doesnt belong to them. One of the differences though is that India is a hypocrite because it claims to be a democracy, and yet its actions in Kashmir put even dictators to shame. Russia never claims to be a beacon of democracy like India keeps blabbering it is.

I googled Ramzan Kadirov, but have to disagree that Omar Abdullah can be compared to such a criminal as Ramzan Kadirov. For instance it is mentioned that, "German human rights group the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV), which branded Kadyrov a "war criminal", has alleged that up to 75 percent of recent incidents of murder, torture, rape and kidnapping in Chechnya have been committed by Ramzan's paramilitary forces. "

Thank God Omar Abdullah does not have a private army, is not a warlord, or a religious leader, and has not been accused by any rights organisation of being a war criminal. Ramzan Kadirov has all these distinctions. As of now, Omar has a clean record and facts are in his favour.

However things could change. He has many options to build his legacy. He could turn a blind eye to atrocities like his predecessors did, including his father, and merely pay lip service. Or he could emulate Jagmohan and turn into a tyrant which India will bless him for. Or he could continue doing what his conscience tells him to do, and we saw the results in the recent events.

That is what I believe. That Omar Abdullah very unlike his predecessors, indeed has a conscience.

But I could be wrong. My views are speculation just like any other opinion on the political happenings in Kashmir. Only time will prove who is right. We will soon find out whether the lust of power will trump justice.

KoshurWhen Kadirov was installed upon Chechenya by Putin after the assasination of his father , he too was seen as the young voice, man with a vision and an innocent soul. He seemed to be shy, humble and honest. Everyone laid high hopes on him. He too promised justice and was viceferous about HR abuses. He too ordered probes and indicted people for murders and abuses. As he streghtened his grip over the power, the real demon in him came to light steadily. He graduated into a devil. His duplicity made him a hot favourite in Kremlin. On one hand he butchered all those who asked for freedom from Russia and on the other hand he banned sale of liquor during Ramadan to please the massas. On one hand he carried out extra judicial killings and on the other hand awarded mothers who gave birth to male children on Milad un Nabi SAWS with huge sums of dollars. He advocated honour killings of girls and gave it an islamic colour. He initiated probes against the murders for which he himself was a culprit. He indicted those people in these murders who were averse to his policies.Now see Omar. Ten innocent souls silenced in two months. Scores of dormant and inactive militants killed, thus trying to force other dormant ones to become active again meaning more violence in Kashmir. If a militant is dormant and inactive, then why should one kill him. Perhaps Violent Kashmir suits them more. And scores of youth put behind the bars and much more to come. So he has not graduated into Kadirov but could be Kadirov in making. Time will show. He has just started and already 10 innocent men are down.

For Kashmir to be peaceful, Kashmiris also have to take responsibility. You said so many times, there will be no inquiry. Well, inquiry was held. Then you said, there will be no report. Well, a report was released. You said the report won't be released in time. It was released before time. Then you said, the military won't do a thing about the report. Well, the military didn't do anything about that report but it did something on its own court of inquiry. Then you said, the culprits won't be punished. The culprits have been punished. At least things have moved this far this time, haven't they ?

I maintain that if Kashmiri politicians show some spine then most of the killings (which I absolutely condemn) will stop.

what will you suggest - eye for an eye But civilized society would have tried to remove the reason behind killing of innocence - not the weapon Punishing army person with death sentence gives us nothing - we simply want army to be removed since they come with a feeling kashmir is theirs and we kashmiri's are enemies so crush them

Omar should demand removing army inside kashmir - they may continue to have them on borders

All members of the armed forces are bound by the Army Act 1950. Any crimes committed by a member of the armed forces on active duty has to be investigated according to that act and that act alone. The punishment is also awarded according to the Army Act 1950.

Under the Army Act, the main aim is to maintain discipline and cohesion within the Armed Forces. Murder of a civilian is a crime under the act but not necessarily punishable by a death sentence.

Let us see what is working here. A crime was committed. An alert citizenry persisted in demanding that the culprits be caught and punished. A responsive government took action. The guilty were caught, investigated and punished under a legal jurisdiction that applied to them. Everything seems to be working under the law as it is supposed to.

This doesn't bring the two innocent human beings back but hopefully it will deter enough errant armymen from taking law into their own hands in the future.

Please dont compare Kashmnir with chechniya.Chechen warlord Basaev took into hostage pregnant women in a maternity home,Beslan school seige he took into hostage innocent school children.Chechen warlods used to Kidnap and ask ransom.We have a different story in Kashmir.Chechen people were part of Soviet empire as any other republic.There was no discrimnation whatsoever.The roots of sepatisim in chechniya were sowed by America for its interests as a part of big game so that to weaken then Russia.Russia is a great power and cannot be compared with the oppressors of India.India even today owes 20 million dollars to Russia of Soviet era.

Why isn't anyone mentioning about Kupwara - 8 army men were killed to save kashmir from forces of destruction or you want those to be called freedom supporters and army your enemy since they laid their lives for thankless kashmiri's

why just glorify the bad about army - main reason army is there is to eliminate these destructive forces who you think are your friends

@anonymousThe main reason why militants are operating in Kashmir is to drag Indian army out of Kashmir. The moment army leaves, Kashmiris will definitely ask militants to leave. Although I personally believe that militancy is giving a bad name to the Kashmir cause, I have no right to nullify the sacrifices offered by millitants for Kashmir neither can we stop militants from infilterating into Kashmir. LOC and international borders of J & K are being manned by BSF and army. They are unable to stop them from infiltrating into Kashmir. We Kashmiris regret loss of life on the both sides. India should leave Kashmir and live a peaceful life.@Dr. WaleedHalf of the population of Chechenya has been annhilated by Russian foces since 1996. Russian war planes impounded villages and towns of Chechenya with cluster bombs in 2000 killing 1.5 lac people in just 20 days. 90% inmates of Grozny, the capital of Chechenya were either killed or forced to leave the town. During Stalin's rule majority of Chechens were forced to migrate to Siberia as Chechens were asking for freedom and were challenging communists with conviction. Chechenya was the only place in USSR where mosques could not be locked down.Majority of militants fighting in Chechenya are followers of Wahabi ideology. Basaev and others were indoctrined by Wahabi militant namely Khatab, who came from Jordon. If a handful of elements indulge in crimes, whole of the society cant be blamed. So in future, please refrain from comments justifying ethenic cleansing of Chechens by Russia.

can people be so blind and think that these infiltrators are helping Kashmir's and when army will leave they will just go away vanish.How can human brain be so blind - there is plant called "soy" which when touched would give bruises - at present army is trying to control and get bruised and in there absence this "soy " will cover whole kahmir and bruise it.You may think of them as needle to remove "meeach" but dear our other hand controls needle and once we remove "meach" we throw needle but these infiltrators are they controlled by kashmiri's - do we kashmiri's tell them where to blast -whom to kill - have they never killed innocent people - forced our women to cook for them - haven't we hidden our sons from them

LeT militants sacrificing their lives for Kashmir ? And you'll ask them to leave once India leaves. Get over it sir, please. They are sacrificing their lives because they have been brain-washed into believing what their handlers across the border want them believe (occupation of territory under the guise of Jihad). If such militants win, Kashmir will become no different than Swat. Try asking the militants who occupy Swat to leave politely and see what they do. The present-day Kashmir with all its problems (understandably many) looks like a heaven compared to the hell that has become of Swat. At least you have the freedom to openly call yourself a separatist and a chance to participate in a political opposition. Give it a chance for your sake and for the sake of your fellow Kashmiris.

http://kashmirtimes.com/A warrant is awaiting execution by the Interpol. Thirteen years have passed since the body of the slain jurist was fished out from Jehlum. The culprit has been identified and a detailed charge sheet produced against him. But justice seems a distant dream for Jalil's relatives, friends and colleagues. If this can happen to a reputed person like Jalil, the plight of the lesser mortals can only be imagined

LiberalMThose in Swat are natives and natives wont leave. And going by your assertion, it seems you have lived in Swat and have experienced the hell out there. If so, then all sympathies to you and if you dont even know where the Swat is, which is the only probablity here, you are spreading lies and indulging in malacious propoganda. I suggust you to write somewhere in Varun Gandhis blog. Your point of view will be in sync with the people of anti- Muslim bias and people of Malign Islam Mentality. By the way, your army is killing Kashmiris in cold blood and doing it in the 'national interest of India'. Fighting LeT is their compulsion and killing civilians is their passion. And you talk about liberty in Kashmir. Hilarious. Liberty to kill, liberty to arrest without any reason, liberty to destroy houses. Yes that type of liberty is being enjoyed by Indians and its stooges in Kashmir. And dont forget all the mass graves have not been dug up and unearthed as of yet in Kashmir.

I certainly do know where Swat is - so no worries there. I am not a religious person (at all) so I have little sympathy for the politics of Varun Gandhi and his likes or the politics of Gilani Sahab and his likes. Varun Gandhi did get arrested and that is a good thing to happen.

I acknowledged in my previous comment that Kashmir has many problems. I was only commenting about Kashmir's relative liberties compared to the "liberties" of Swat where militancy has been allowed to run its full course.

Kashmir center eloquently elaborated what those liberties translate to in reality in Kashmir.

I think we are way past comparing Kashmir with other parts of the subcontinent. The argument that Kashmir will turn into another hotbed of al qaida activity, when we are independent, is worn off so much now that it's not even worth responding to.

If that were the case we wouldnt be trying to convince the world community and the US to have permanent bases in Kashmir. Anything to rid us of the scourge of Indian presence here.

You believe US will help you - I think present condition of kashmir has ended up in reduction in your mental abilities - In order to get rid of needle you want to hug porcupine -want to be afganistan or iraq or may be vietnam It is US intrest to have burning kashmir issue so that pakistan and India fight and it is they who actually fund terrorism in kashmir - all the help you get from pakistan is all for money - go and check the wealth militants made after 1990 - if they are freedom fighters why they are buying properties in jammu , banglore even london etc for their kith and kin Actually those who favour pakistan and even US - I know they simply believe in making money - they have no sympathies for poeple who are suffering in kashmir

The human rights abuses have gone down in direct relationship to the going down of militancy. Yes, there are sporadic incidents here and there but on the whole the level of abuses and violence has gone down (I do try to read Kashmiri newspapers to get a balanced view).

This is a poor man's democracy and for most of us it works fine. Police and politicians are corrupt to the bone everywhere in India. But when a thousand well-meaning people band together the police brutality stops and politicians start listening. This is what happened in Bomai and I salute the spirit of the people there. Luckily for most Kashmiris too, bread, butter, poor-man's democracy, and /relative/ peace and political space (as compared to previous years and as compared to other entities in the geographical neighbourhood) seem to matter a lot more than somewhat unrealistic, distant, hazy, and unclear dreams of independence.

Who is "we" in "we'll be happy with our version" ? Most of the "we" that you are referring to actively participated in this "poor man's democracy" by voting in the last election held in Kashmir in 2008. They are already happier having participated in a generally free vote, having a responsive government of their choice, and looking forward to a peaceful Kashmir. Most of "we" appear to be ready to move on to better things in life. Don't you think you need to listen more to what a large majority of your own people are telling you by their own actions ?

You mean the rigged elections with tampered electronic voting machines?You're fooling yourselves if you believe that 60% kashmiris voted in those elections.In any case, like many Kashmiris have suggested in the past, if you're so confident that 60% Kashmiris voted to express their undenying love for India and have given up dreams of freedom, then hold the long overdue plebiscite to prove your claim once and for all.

Yes I am aware what the large majority of Kashmiris are yearning for. It is evident everyday on their faces when we see the criminal faces of your soldiers on our streets.

Plebscite has no meaning when people freely participate in elections to vote for the candidates of their choice - all of whom have sworn an oath of allegiance to the constitution of India. That is your plebiscite right there.

Hurriyat asked people to boycott the elections. People could have and should have boycotted the elections but they didn't, did they ? Why would people go out in droves to vote for candidates that have sworn their loyalty to the Republic of India ?

As far as the legitimacy of the elections is concerned I will trust my sources (including many kashmiri newspapers) and believe that it was a generally free and fair poll.

There are many who would say that hurriyet leaders wanted to be under house-arrest. Their popularity is so abysmally low, what with their random strike calls and 15 different talking heads speaking in dissonant voices all at the same time. If that is the leadership you rely on for getting your independence then wish you all the best. The majority of kashmiris seem to have spoken loud and clear that they have nothing to do with the hurriyet agenda of needless confrontation and would rather get on as best as they can in a poor-man's democracy.

UN supervised plebiscite is a mirage that even the UN doesn't believe in any more. In the end, even if a UN supervised plebiscite is actually held (fat chance that), kashmiris can be offered only two choices: join the rapidly unraveling Pakistan or join poor-man's demcracy India. There is no third option in a UN-sponsored plebiscite. Sorry.

@anonymous abovethankyou for the priceless gems of wisdom.goes to show how flawed your comprehension is. Even after reading more than 150 blog posts on this blog, you came to the conclusion that I belong to a pro-india party. I guess in your logic the Jehlum flows north to south.

You seem to somehow know exactly what a majority of Kashmiris want therefore I will let you be in your make beleive world. No matter how much you try to spin the recent elections as somehow reflective of the supposed pro-India leanings of Kashmiris, it's not going to work. There are many Kashmiris working to disrove just that and let me break it to you that there are many sympathetic ears in the Obama administration.

It's just a matter of time when the US and the world community wakes up to what evil India is perpetrating in Kashmir and decides to put up permanent bases in Kashmir . Indians keep blabbering as though the new US administration is unaware of the pro-Bush leanings of the Indians.

We could care less what the options were in the old UN resolutions. If we want independence we will make sure that option is included. The destiny of a nation cannot be decided by mere wordings on an archaic document. We are demanding a plebiscite - not necessarily the one that was promised 60 years ago. The UN can pass a new resolution demanding India and Pakistan to hold a plebiscite in Kashmir. With the Independence option included.

The stuff of India's worst nightmare is coming to fruition. Dont lose too much sleep on it.

Once again you are harkening back to "we". The "we" that you are referring to is now a small band of avowed separatists who can't seem to see beyond the foggy ideas of "independence". The large majority of the "we" has voted with their feet to avoid a needless confrontation, engage in political processes, and pursue their goals of personal happiness.

As for the rest of your comments, about having sympathetic ears in the Obama administration, about ignoring the old UN resolutions, about passing a brand new UN plebiscite resolution with an option of independence, about US establishing bases in Kashmir, US/UN sanctioning India till India chokes, worst nightmare for India etc etc ..... that is the kind of heroic stuff that I am afraid, I am simply not equipped to argue with.

Hope all people sleep peacefully tonight and every coming night in Kashmir and may the mornings bring hope and happiness every day.

one rotten apple can make whole garden rotten - a small band has potential to be reason behind massive killings in kashmir - i think you very well know the count - add count of army , bsf,crpf and jk police as well . @ koshur I know you can not argue - when you fail you simply make others agree with guns .Argument is not what every person can do - to hold a gun and say we are freedom fighters is what anyone can do

1.3 million troops ? That is more than the entire military. At least get your exaggerations right, please ?

The election participation was a shocker to the separatists and you lost the force of your arguments and the ability to call "we" to refer to Kashmiris at large right there and then.

When breathless dreams and wishful thinking is inserted into a discussion, then it is meaningless to argue further. I can argue with your opinions but I can't argue with your or anyone else's dreams. You may have the last word Koshur but you disappointed me this time.

Just goes to show your knowledge of the conflict. Please enlighten me on how many occupation troops are there then in Kashmir. I suppose in your make believe world, where Kashmiris are pro-India, and fly your tri-color from roof-tops on Aug 15, and dont cheer when India loses a cricket match, there are only a few thousand occupation troops to tackle the handful of separatists.

The only wishful thinking here is Indians thinking that Kashmiris will ever be pro-India or that we'll ever give up our quest for independence.

Pardon me if you were disappointed! the least of my concerns is to entertain some hindutva agent!

Dear Koshur pro india , pro pak , hindu muslim - that is what politicians use for votebank and money I though we here want peace and happiness in kashmir . It is simply of quest to make certain that our children do net see bloodshed and live a normal childhood . their schoold impart real education and do not close because of bandh , their mother do not wait anxiously when there is news about cross fire for teenagers who are not in home , women are not humilated and what not they have suffered.if flag is tricolor and my future generations can be happy I will not mind that but at present neither green nor tricolor flag makes me feel safe about my kids - be it militants or army kashmir's younger generation is not getting what they deserve - small kids want toys in hands not grenades - small kids need parks and play grounds to play not curfews and hartals and even harrasment

kasmir independence has never focussed on real objective always tried to either bent to pak or india that is why we till now have not achieved our goal Koshur - try to live your name and be koshur YOU may be able to give youth right direction not try to take help of wrong people

Hindutva agent ? Moi ? Sorry, that couldn't be further from the reality. Calling me a Hindutva agent is akin to calling you a patriotic, tri-colour waving Indian. Look at my comments above. Hindutva agents don't go about saluting the ordinary people of Bomai, J&K for standing up to their rights in the face of atrocities committed by the Army.

You want independence ? Fine. I have no issues with that. Can you define what independence means to you ? Here by "you" I mean You, not Kashmiris in general. It is clear that people of Jammu region and Ladakh do not share your aspirations for independence. It is also clear that while there is some level of support for a foggy notion of "independence" in Kashmir valley it is not clear how many people have this as their #1 priority in life. It is also not very clear if people in the valley support an idea of Kashmir that will be independent and hostile to India. Most Indians as of today, will be extremely hostile to the idea of an independent Kashmir valley so I would suspect that an independent Kashmir valley is not going to have an easy time of it trying to be friends with India. And you know what being friends with Pakistan means so I will skip the gory details.

It was a delight reading you again LiberalM.I have stopped posting any further. The reason for that is what you have elucidated so aptly:

"When breathless dreams and wishful thinking is inserted into a discussion, then it is meaningless to argue further. I can argue with your opinions but I can't argue with your or anyone else's dreams."

SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM LET PELBICITE TAKES PLACE WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE AFRAID OF PELBICITE, WE WILL HAVE TOUGH TIME BUT WE WILL BREATH IN ATMOSPHERE OF FREEDOM AND RESPECT.JUST LEAVE IT AND SEE IT TURNS INTO HEAVEN IN 20YRS

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